


What You Don't Understand

by trucherrygirl



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Ableism, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Bisexual Captain Hook | Killian Jones, Bisexual Emma Swan, Chronic Pain, Disabled Character, Empath!Emma, F/M, Grad School AU, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:33:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26022721
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trucherrygirl/pseuds/trucherrygirl
Summary: Disabled doctoral student and empath Emma Swan just wants to get through graduate school in one piece. Her advisor, Regina Mills, is no-nonsense and expects the best of her, but Emma's feeling the pressure. She goes to unwind at the local bar, The Jolly Roger, and meets the charismatic bartender, Killian Jones, who's harboring his own secrets. With a growing attraction forming between them, where will it lead?
Relationships: Captain Hook | Killian Jones/Emma Swan
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	What You Don't Understand

**Author's Note:**

  * For [wordsbymeganmichael](https://archiveofourown.org/users/wordsbymeganmichael/gifts).



> Content warning in this chapter for internalized ableism
> 
> I really wanted to write a story about queer disabled Emma, so here it is!

For the second time that week, empath and doctoral student, Emma Swan finds herself walking into the Jolly Roger, the bar with an uncanny pirate theme, some good rum, and an even better-looking bartender.

_Get it together, Emma,_ she tells herself, schooling her features into a mask of concentration and does her best to hide the flare-up of pain that courses through her. She leans heavily on her cane, the handle in the shape of a swan and curved for her comfort and the weight of her body. There are few things she trusts in her twenty-eight years of life, but her cane has always supported her.

It’s not that she wanted the mobility aid. On the contrary, she’d fought against the idea to get one. She thought she didn’t need one. It was only due to her friend Elsa’s insistence that she finally caved and had a custom made one free of charge (thanks to a friend of Elsa’s) before the start of her doctoral program. Having a cane makes it easier for her to get around campus and other places, especially if she has to walk a longer distance, which she tries not to do very often in fear of overexertion and stress on her painful muscles and aching joints.

Now, Emma carefully opens the door and goes inside, the rubber tip of her cane tapping against the polished tile.

The bar is dimly lit as she slides into a seat, a familiar shadow moving closer.

She looks up and straight into those unforgettable piercing blue eyes, a playful smirk creasing the man’s lips.

Damn.

“Back so soon, love? Are you going to tell me your name this time?”

“I want a rum and coke,” Emma says, ignoring his cocky flirtation.

“Your heart’s desire, love. I’ll be right back.”

When he returns, she pulls out a five-dollar bill and tries to give it to him.

“That won’t be necessary. It’s on the house.”

“Are you always like this?”

“Like what, love?”

_Unmistakably attractive,_ she thinks before pushing the thought from her mind.

Instead, she runs her tongue along her bottom lip, a retort easily slipping out. “Trying to charm your way into a girl’s pants by giving her free drinks? Or pretending to be a gentleman.”

“Rest assured,” he tells her. “I’m always a gentleman.”

And then he winks. He fucking winks at her.

Slides the cool glass across the bar’s smooth wood. She catches it, fingers curling around the glass like it did a few nights before.

“The name’s Killian. Killian Jones,” he says, offering her this new piece of information without preamble as she stares into the haunted abyss of his ocean blue eyes, her empath instincts working to try to figure him out. He disappears towards the other end of the bar before she can say anything.

Something in the pit of Emma’s stomach burns and it isn’t the alcohol.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you'd like to see more! I've been having mixed feelings about posting this story. I will fix the summary when I have a better idea of where the story is going. Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
